Jer979's Blog

Monday, March 16, 2015

I wasn't originally planning on going to Israel with the kids this year. The NFO was taking them for our nephew's Bar Mitzvah, but a few factors-most notably that I didn't want to miss being there with them—led me to make a last minute decision to attend.

I'm glad I did.

This was my 10th or 11th visit to Israel and every time I go, I learn something new about the country.

While taking the kids to places like the Western Wall, Yad v'Shem (the Holocaust Memorial Museum), Mt. Herzl (the military cemetery), the Mahane Yehuda market, or just walking down Ben Yehuda (the main drag in Jerusalem) is always exciting and meaningful, the point of these trips is to instill a sense of connectiveness-to build the connective tissue, if you will, between my kids and the Land of Israel.

Our goal is to have them understand that this place is not just another place. It's a special place for them and a part of their identity. As parents, you always wonder if you are making the impact you hope to make.

We do our best and I suppose time will tell.

But what strikes me in Israel in 2015 is much of what strikes me every time. The "bizarro world" that is sometimes the country and the Middle East.

This week is an election which could have huge ramifications for the future of the country and the region.

How big is the Iranian threat?

Will a united Arab list and a potentially larger than average Arab turnout be a determining factor in the election? (I find this particularly ironic given the charges of "apartheid state" that are leveled at the country.

The never-ending discussion about how to be both a Jewish country and a democracy.

How to maintain the ongoing economic miracle/"start-up" nation/technology hub that has resulted in a country where GDP per capita is going to soon exceed that of France. Yes, France.

And a whole lot more.

It's not a perfect country. Never will be, but it's a country based on an ideal and a belief…that the Jews have a right to their own country and that, when all is said and done, Jews need a country where the primary raison d'etre is the defense of people's right to live as Jews.

I hope my kids walked away with that.

And I just wish all of the haters could take a step back and walk through the streets of Jerusalem or Tel Aviv or wherever and see how the country functions. How people are just trying to live their lives and do better for their families.

They would be blown away to see that…and they'd be really blown away to see Arabs walking amongst the Jews in these same places with no fear at all, no reason to be afraid, accepted for who they are.

Then they might ask themselves, "would a Jew be able to walk around as a Jew in many Arab countries with no fear whatsoever?" They can't do it in Sweden or Paris, after all…which proves the very point.

Israel, despite being nearly 68 years old is not guaranteed. It's a daily struggle and every moment is infused with a sense of urgency, a sense of life-or-death consequences that few others places or people in the world have. There's an unspoken tension that just exists. There are shelters, there were (and will be, unfortunately) air raid sirens. There are soldiers carrying guns, security checkpoints at malls, metal detectors, and profiling.

Those aren't disappearing anytime soon, I'm sad to say. Maybe never.

There's the irony that being outnumbered nearly 150 to 1 is the root cause of the country's competitive advantage.

But it's all this, the living in a pressure cooker that creates not just innovation, but also a heighted joie de vivre that can't be understood by an outsider. Nor can it be understood fully by someone who is unfamiliar with Jewish history.

Hopefully these trips will help our kids see this and understand their place in it.

Arrive in Israel at 9am. Get car and drive to Jerusalem. Stay in Israel for 4 full days.

Sat. night, March 14th

Leave Israel at 10:55pm, flying to Newark.

Sunday morning, March 15th

Arrive in Newark at 4.30am

The baggage door on the plane won't open, so we all wait by the carousel for 90 minutes (we can't go through customs w/o our bags). A huge line amasses. Fortunately, I have Global Entry and get my own line.

Go to United Club, where I take a shower and drink the 2nd of what will be multiple coffees.

Take shuttle from C gates to A gates for 8:55am flight to Austin.

Get on the plane, only to find out that there's a maintenance issue and we have to deplane.

Then, we have to change gates, so we take the shuttle BACK to C gates for a new plane.

That plane, eventually, leaves Newark at 11.55 (3 hours late).

Arrive in Austin at 3pm local time (roughly and hopefully as I'm writing this while on the plane)

Oh, by the way, I have brought 2 HUGE bags back with me to try and make things easier for NFO and kids when they fly back from Israel w/o me. (Needless to say, one of them-the one I needed-didn't make it to Austin in time)

Attend Sprinklr SXSW party

Monday, March 15

Leave Austin around noon and fly (via Houston) back to Reagan National where I will wait for about 4 hours and meet up with family returning from Israel via Toronto. They will have a 4-5 hour layover and get in around 11pm.

Take family home and hopefully help get them settled.

Tuesday, March 16

Home. Yay.

Wednesday, March 17

8am flight from Dulles to Seattle. Arrive in Seattle at 11am local time. Give presentation at 4.15pm local time.

Sunday, March 15, 2015

It strikes me as very interesting that Israel is accused of being an "apartheid state" and yet, the elections next week could be determined the turnout of the Arab vote and the positions of the Arab parties.

Even more so, the leader of the Arab parties says they are fundamentally against the existence of the State in which they are members of Knesset (parliament).

Can you imagine a party in the US running for seats in Congress and saying "we don't believe in the Constitution or the bill of Rights. We're just running in order to get more power and have ppl pay attention to our unique demands."

The essays are about 2-3 pages long and, for the most part, really good.

Two that stood out for me are: The Pessimistic Meta-Induction from the History of Science which essentially says that in each era, people think they are at the end of modernity, having figured it all out, and that everyone beforehand were ignorant. Yet, 85% of what we think of as "truth/fact" will be proven to be false at some point. Stay humble

And Self-Serving Bias which essentially says that we aren't nearly as open-minded as we though (which we knew), but reminds us that we are always looking for things to confirm what we think is the right thing.

Sunday, February 22, 2015

It's definitely tough though. Trying to be a present/involved father, being a decent husband, and being a responsible employee.

I travel a fair amount. Most weeks. While my trips (for the most part) tend to be 2 days and 1 night, it still means I'm not there.

The flip side is that when I'm home, I'm home when the kids leave for school and when they get back. We have dinner together as a family most weeknights.

I tell the kids that there are dads who don't get home until 8pm (or later) most nights, but who don't travel as much, so which would they rather have?

Not that it really matters all that much because we are talking about my kids and my relationship with them.

You feel how quickly the years go and you kick yourself for the fact that you might be doing work or taking a conference call or checking email while they are there. You justify it by saying you are doing it to be a provider for them.

And you are because, obviously, if you didn't do the work, take the call, or respond to the email at all, you wouldn't be doing your part.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

One of my great fear motivators is becoming irrelevant in a professional sense. When you can no longer add value, you are replaced. Whether by a machine or a lower cost option, it doesn't matter, you're done. And it's hard to bounce back from that.

To combat that, I spent a lot of time thinking about macro trends and playing around with new technologies.

It's why I bought BitCoin a while ago. It's why my daughters and I play with TinkerCad and print 3D items. It's why I watch documentaries on Netflix (ok, I binge on a lot of other stuff as well). It's why I explored the Dark Web, got solar panels, was one of Vonage's first 20,000 customers, bought a Nest, ordered an Amazon Echo and more.

It's also why I love traveling and why I have a hard and fast business travel philosophy of "always doing something unique to the city" when I visit. Otherwise, it's airport-office-hotel-airport. This way, your eyes are opened in some way.

You get the idea. Sure, some of it is "fun," but a lot of it is…this is how I get my head around what is coming so I can be better prepared.

In fact, in a knowledge/information economy, being able to see things before others do and then prepare for them is a non-negotiable skill and will be the source of competitive advantage.

I read the whole book in one sitting while on a plane and like his previous books (all of which I enjoyed), the writing is very consumable, but more importantly, he combines theory with practicality.

You walk away with concrete steps to take so you can be a better, more sophisticated, curated trendspotter.

And that's what you need.

Plus, he made me feel better about my fatherhood strategy (which, I admit, I got from my own dad). One of the key objectives of parenthood is to instill a sense of curiosity in your children. Help them learn how to ask questions and look at the world from a wide perspective.

Rohit confirms this approach and emphasizes that it's important for adults (I would argue that in a world of radical transformation and disruption at lightning speed, that it's more important than ever.

Now, my timing may be off, but is there any doubt in your mind that autonomous vehicles will happen?

Then, combine that with ridesharing apps and optimization algorithms from Uber and collaborative technologies like RelayRides and you have a huge opportunity for transport and logistics companies to save a ton of money…which they will pass on to you, the consumer.

Of course, there's a catch.

We're not going to need all of those truck drivers (or cab drivers for that matter).

That's a TON of people who will have to do something else. An absolute ton.

I don't have the answer right now. I'm just seeing what's going to happen.

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

Every now and then, you just have a crazy set of events that require documentation.

Tonight is one of those nights for me.

It began well enough at the beautiful Skytop Lodge in the Pocono Mountains. One of Sprinklr's teams was having an off-site and I was invited to be a guest presenter. While the team was staying there for 3 days, I planned to only stay for one. I took the bus up with them in the morning from NYC and a car was arranged to take our CFO and me back to the city at 6pm.

We didn't arrive at the front of hotel until 6.30, but since the hotel is close to-well, nothing-we weren't too concerned about the car leaving without us.

However, when we got there, we discovered no car. After 20 minutes of trying to track down the reservation number and phone for the car company, we discovered that, in fact, no reservation had been made.

Immediately, we moved into Plan B category.

Now, my time constraint was that the last train from NYC (well, really Newark) was at 10.22 so that I could be at home Wed. morning in order to attend Nadia's school ceremony at 9am on Wednesday.

In other words, it was a "failure is not an option" night for me.

So, first we looked at "how else can we get to the city?"

First choice was to take a cab to the bus...the first of which we would not get to in time (it left from Mt. Pocono) at 7.20pm and the second of which didn't leave until 9.30pm, which would be too late.

We called some fellow Sprinklrites who had driven up, but none of them were leaving that night.

Then, we called a cab company and, fortunately, since I was travelling with the CFO, I didn't have to worry about paying too much for the cab ;-)
So, we negotiated a fixed price and set off on our way. The GPS said it would take 2 hours to get to Penn Station, NYC which would be fine.

HOWEVER, as we made our way on I-280E, a notification popped up on my OnePlus phone from Google Now saying "traffic ahead" and suggested a detour. By the time I realized what was happening, we had missed the detour and we found ourselves in an absolute standstill. And, I mean, ABSOLUTE.

I helplessly looked at the estimated time of arrival for Penn Station and then realized that, in fact, we should go to Newark. I negotiated with the cab driver and he agreed, but the ETA in Newark didn't look good either.

It was starting to look like I'd spend the night in NYC and have to take the 3.40am (yes, you read that right) train back to DC.

By this point, we saw that the entire highway was shut down. They made EVERYBODY get off at an exit and now you have highway traffic making their way through suburban roads and, well, obviously, that's not a good mix.

We take a large detour and go down I-280 a few exits and get back on the road. The WAZE and GPS now say that we will make it to Newark at 10:18 (when the train is at 10:22).

Using all of my motivational powers, I do my best to pump up Howard (our cab driver-as my CFO is with me and has graciously agreed to the Newark detour) and we head towards the station, only to see that one of the exits is blocked by an ambulance.

We make our way around and they drop me off. I agree to text them to let them know if I made it or require a ride into the city.

I sprint to the door, which is LOCKED.

The woman behind me says, "it is locked because someone DIED in there."

So, I run down to the next entrance, with only minutes to spare and try to figure out which track to go to.

As I run in to the station, I see a woman lying on the floor 30 feet in front of me and a bunch of people screaming, "SHE WAS ATTACKED!!!"

Then, I see police running towards the scene.

Thinking that this is not something I need right now, I figure out that I'm on Track 3 and make my way up there, getting to the track at 10.21.

I look to the monitor and all seems to be well. I text Chris (the CFO) and tell him that I made it.

Not 1 minute goes by when I look at the screen again and I see that my train is 1 hour and 15 minutes late.

Yes, you read that correctly. Within the span of 1 minute, my train went from on time to 75 minutes late.

I stand there with my jaw drooped open in amazement. Then, I see that the 7.58 train is running 3 hours late...which means that if I can change my ticket from the 10.22 train to a train that technically has already left, I can get on it.

I run back downstairs to try and find an agent, but all of the Amtrak offices are closed and the ticket desk is behind the gate where, well, someone died.

So, I go to the ticket kiosk, where I have the challenge of modifying my ticket so that I can take a train that, in the mind of the computer at least, doesn't exist anymore (since it should have been through Newark about 2 hours previously).

Of course, that doesn't work.

So, I go back upstairs to the track (oh yeah, it's 12 degrees) and I decide to call Amtrak to modify my ticket from the 10:22 train (now 11:37) to the 7:58 (now 10:58) train.

While I'm on the phone with the reservation agent, an Acela (which wasn't even listed on the monitor) pulls into the station, so I think "screw this, I'm just getting on this train."

Which is what I do...I explain to the conductor that I'm on the phone with Amtrak and will get it resolved.

The conductor says to me "where are you going?" and I say "oh, I'm going to BWI train station."

Needless to say, at that point, he says "oh, this train DOESN'T STOP AT BWI."

I have no choice but to smile...as I"m now en route to Baltimore, from which I will have to take a cab to BWI so that I can get my car and then drive home.

Monday, January 05, 2015

The first was Den of Thieves about Milken, Boesky, and the "greed is good" era of insider trading in the 80s on Wall St. A strong narrative, well written that reinforces the dark view that when there are rules and there is money to be made, there will be smart people who either find a way around the rules or don't care about them and take on the risk.

How Louie Zamperini was able to survive the war, a plane wreck, a POW camp and more... at the level of abuse that he did...well, it puts all other problems in perspective and helps you realize how strong the will to live and survive is.

My brother told me that he walked out of the movie because it was so slow to develop (I can't comment on that personally). The book was powered by the force of the story. I found the prose to be rather straightforward and written at a lower level. That could have been the author's intention because you don't need to work up a story that is beyond belief to begin with.

But I don't want to focus on the shortcomings. The life of Louie Zamperini is one of an epic for all time and deserves to be studied and lauded.

So there you have it... winter 2014...an investigation into the soul of Man.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

In our winter sojourn to the South, we decided to make Day 2 about the importance of transportation and the innovators who see the future.

We left Norfolk and drove about 80 minutes to Kitty Hawk, NC where the Wright Brothers changed the course of world history (no hyperbole) by inventing mechanized flight. It was a cold, blustery day, not the best nearly for experiencing the outdoor component, but it was made up for by a great Visitors' Center and an equally exciting presentation by the Ranger there.

Not only was the lesson in physics and engineering informative, but the larger lesson...that failure can be a step on the road to success...was imparted (at least I hope it was).

It really is remarkable to think about the impact on diplomacy, immigration, trade, and, well, everything that the Wright Brothers have had.

And keeping with the theme of transportation, we stopped in Virginia Beach to visit Fun Tours, a bus travel company owned by a friend of ours, Felix Kushnir. Much like the Wright Brothers, Felix had a dream.

He was a practicing corporate lawyer and decided that, well, that wasn't for him, so he took one of the more impressive mid-life career turns (pun semi-intended) that I have ever witnessed and traded that all in for a bus company.

Now, he's learning the ins and outs of that business and is committed to making it a success. I have no doubt that he will.

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Our ultimate objective this winter break was Kitty Hawk, NC to see the location of the historic initial flight by the Wright Brothers.

En route, we spent a day in Norfolk, VA and we certainly made the most of it.

I had been to Norfolk once about 6 years ago, though I didn't have much of a chance to explore the city. I have to say, it really is a pleasant town.

As you make your way around, you can't help but notice that the "Chrysler" name is attached to many of the city's philanthropic institutions, the most obvious being the art museum.

I was intrigued by this as I normally associate Chrysler with Detroit, but according to Wikipedia, the wife of the son of the original Chrysler hailed from Norfolk, so it all made sense.

We started off at the Glass Studio where we saw an hour long demonstration of what is admittedly a beautiful art that has an impressive amount of science contained within it. Our presenter, I thought, was excellent--informative and with a sense of humor.

Afterwards, we walked across the street to the actual museum itself. We were excited to see an exhibition celebrating 70 years of Smokey the Bear. The artist's various works (and the evolution of the tag line) were really interesting to watch and we learned that, in 1964, the US Postal Service assigned Smokey his own zip code. Today, you can tweet him...which I did.

The museum was also great for kids as they had a scavenger hunt, which enabled us to walk through most of the museum without the kids complaining...and instead were excited about doing it.

For our last stop, we visited the Nauticus museum which is adjacent to the retired battleship, USS Wisconsin. It is packed with all kinds of information about why Norfolk is so important from a nautical perspective (it has the deepest water of any eastern US port) and historical (the US Navy's Atlantic Fleet is based here) and it was from here that Teddy Roosevelt launched the "Great White Fleet".

The museum was extremely kid-friendly and ours didn't really want to leave. They enjoyed the exhibits and had a great time exploring the immense battleship. Even better, I think they walked away with a deep appreciation of what a battleship does (and what life on one might be like) as well as an understanding to some extent of the importance of ship transport.

Perhaps the most fun part of the day was how, prior to each stop, our kids would say "ugh, do we have to go there?" and then, during the visit, they would say "this place is great!"

I asked them afterwards..."so, how many times will we need to tell you that you are going to like a place and you will take our word for it and not complain before we go?"

Friday, December 26, 2014

I have a thesis that the current college system is broken and will, soon, no longer be the source of credential that it once was.

The economics are broken in a big way. And, I'm not sure that (on the whole), the education delivered is preparing people for the workforce or citizenry.

Combine that with new models of education delivery (e.g. Khan Academy, MOOCs) and you have an industry that is ripe.

There is still value to the college experience...bringing people of diverse backgrounds together for intense co-existing experiences. However, in my view, there will be far better and more cost-effective ways of doing that.

I'm certainly not the only one who has recognized this. There are many working on this including University of the People.

Sunday, December 14, 2014

When I was 14 years old, my dad took me on a 2 week trip to eastern Europe. Easily one of the most transformative experiences of my life for many reasons.

But one moment stands out in particular.

After having been in the Eastern bloc (Soviet Union, Poland, and East Germany), we arrived in West Berlin and went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum. From there, we could see the famous sign "you are now leaving the American Sector" and I remember thinking, for the first time, how lucky I was to have been born in a free society and be an American.

It's something that I never take for granted and it's one of the reasons why I have little patience for people who don't keep that perspective in mind when criticizing America vis a vis the rest of the world. Not saying everything is perfect, of course, but we have to keep the broader picture in mind.

All of this came rushing back today as I took Tikkanen to the Newseum. She had been there before but never had and I was just blown away by the quality and quantity of exhibits...the first of which is a section of the Berlin Wall, where I had the opportunity to frame for her why freedom is important and not to take it for granted.

The six floor are full of history and I found myself thinking "how the heck will I ever teach my kids even a portion of what's in here?" (and there was plenty I didn't know, of course.)

We sat for a long time in the 9/11 retrospective area, which has the antenna from the top of the WTC and I got chills, as I do often when I think of that day (as do many of us) and being in NYC.

We talked about the Scopes Monkey Trial, the Civil Rights Movement, Tiannamen Square, and much more.

The museum is really well done. Very interactive, digital/social savvy and has a ton of great kids activities.

Definitely not my last visit.

But, a museum that allows me to instill a trans-generational value...that's worth the price of admission (which wasn't cheap ;-)

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

A few weeks ago, I shared that the kids and I were embarking on a "40 for 40" campaign in honor of the NFO's upcoming birthday.

40 acts of kindness..by each of us.

The four of us have been tracking dilligently and, at times, asking the NFO for approval of whether our act did indeed count towards the goal.

I am proud to say that both Tikkanen and Jokinen have reached the milestone. With 2 days left, I have 5 to go...and Nadia, well..she made a strong effort.

But more impressive than all of that was the inspiring effort put forth by "Aunt" Helene Reisler who, like many others, said she would celebrate the "40 for 40" effort and make her own list.

And she did!

Herewith...her list of accomplishments. Kudos!!

Hi Jeremy and Team,

It is an honor, blessing, and joy for me to
share with all of you my list of the following 40 F0R 40 ACTS OF KINDNESS
TOWARDS OTHERS that I did, in honor of Tamar's 40th birthday:

1. Monday, Sept. 29th- made and delivered a dinner meal to
Dina's and Eitan's home in honor of their new baby.

2. Wednesday, Oct. 1st- I helped Sarah Shapiro out and took
her daughter, Ella, home from the bus stop because her son, Charlie, was sick.

3.Oct. 8th- I made and delivered a meal to Melissa &
Josh Stein's home in honor of their new baby.

4.Oct. 10th- At Ohr Kodesh I stopped to be kind and
listen to a woman, who was coming out of services, and briefly shared her
feelings of sadness with me.

5.Oct. 10th- I was helpful to a young mother by watching and
holding and comforting & soothing her 2 year old daughter, who was tired
and upset, while the mother put her other kids in the car to go home from Ohr
Kodesh Synagogue.

6.Oct. 27th- I took a 102 year old woman, who cannot drive,
home from Rabbi Herzfeld's Parsha class for women.

7. Oct. 27th- I made and delivered a dinner meal to
Tammy and Josh Levine's home in honor of their new baby.

8. Oct.26th- I played the piano for Cantor Hinda Labovitz's
cantorial installation ceremony at Ohr Kodesh.

9. Made and delivered a meal for a neighbor who had knee
surgery.

10. Nov. 14th- 15th weekend-Helped out with birthday
celebrations for my daughters, Emily-36th, and Julie-40th. A joy and blessing.

11. I had first extra rehearsal with Cantor Hinda Labovitz.

12. I had 2nd extra rehearsal with Cantor Hinda Labovitz

13. I had 3rd extra rehearsal with Cantor Hinda Labovitz

14. I had 4th extra rehearsal with Cantor Hinda Labovitz

15. I had 5th extra rehearsal with Cantor Hinda Labovitz

16. I am volunteering to be music director and
accompanist for JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT play at JPDS on
Sunday, December 14th, 2014.

#17- 28- I played piano for 12 rehearsals for JOSEPH
at JPDS show.

29. I volunteered and did the music for JFGH
High Holiday party at Ohev Shalom in Seot. 2014.

31. Going to shabbat services and being with my
grandchildren, also a blessing and Mitzvah and joy.

32.Doing the Walk For Life on 11/9/14, and extra joy of
seeing Calanit there as well and giving her a hug.

33. Volunteering and doing music at Ohev Shalom JFGH
Thanksgiving Holiday Party in Nov. 2014.

34.Making and delivering a meal for Siona and her husband in
honor of their new baby.

35. Volunteered and helping out with music &
dancing at OHEV SHALOM THANKSGIVING DAY FEAST on Thanksgiving day afternoon.

36. Taking my grandkids Ice Skating and having a wonderful
time watching them enjoy ice skating.

37. Made a second meal for my neighbor who had knee surgery.

38. One on one music help session with a cast
member from Joseph at JPDS.

39. Helped out a lady in exercise class by
getting her a towel and mat to use.

40. Volunteering and doing music and dance for
JFGH Chanukah party, 12/16/14.

I believe that I was being kind to myself and I derived much
much joy and blessing by doing the above 40 acts of kindness towards others,
and towards myself as well, in honor of the 40th birthday of dear Tamar, who I
love very much and who is a blessing & joy in my life.

Once again thank you for giving me the blessing and joy of
being included in this very appropriate Campaign for Kindness in celebration of
Tamar, as I think Tamar is a living blessing.

Please let me know if there is anything else that I can do
to be a part of this wonderful and appropriate celebration for Tamar in honor
of her 40th birthday.

Wednesday, November 05, 2014

Or perhaps it was because the NFO needed to be out for most of the day and into the early part of the evening.

Still, tonight, I was on point and solo for making sure the kids were fed and completed their homework before bedtime.

Lesson 1 was a deep appreciation for how much the NFO does either by herself (due to my travel schedule) or as the lead parent for this part of the day.

But there was a moment, when I was sitting at the dining room table helping both Tikkanen and Lakkanen with their respective homework assignments that time stood still.

We call it a "mental snapshot" and I realized that this was just "one of those school nights" when the kids would think many years hence that they had eaten dinner and done homework. Just a part of the routine of life.

And as I thought that, I recognize, like the old John Lennon adage, that this WAS LIFE. I realized that, never again, would they be that age, at that time, doing that exact thing. It was both mundane and profound all at the same time.

I cherished it. As my friend Josh would say, I "sucked out the marrow of Life" in that moment and just savored it for what it was. A dad, helping his daughters with their homework.

I'll admit that I'm much more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker. Though I do like tea and I find it much more calming than coffee, I just don't tend that way too often.

Still, when my friend Efrat asked me to sample some of her new tea line, Ceremonie Tea, I took a look at the website and jumped at the chance.

My reputation is important to me so I didn't promise a false, ringing endorsement, but the website hinted at a level of class that I hadn't seen too often in tea, with a few exceptions.

I believe the essence of great marketing is great storytelling and I think Ceremonie Tea has taken that to heart. They are clear about the extremely high quality origins of their product and they extend that to every element of the experience. The packaging is truly inspired. The colors representing different flavors and moods as well as different regions.

I tried many of them and while, try as I might, I can't seem to ever like Earl Grey, the Moroccan Mint and the various Green Teas were sublime. Mellow.

There have been studies about how packaging or price can actually enhance people's perception of the taste of wine and I would be willing to bet that if you gave your guests/friends some of this tea with its unique, pyramid-shaped bags, they would enjoy it even more. I know I did.

If I had two critiques, it would be that I wish that all of the bags had a string on them instead of requiring a spoon to remove the bag (but that could be a personal preference) and that they would use a bit less plastic on some of the boxes.

Still, the tea is definitely not your normal Lipton/Bigelo and better than the Celestial Seasonings variety. It moves into gourmet land and, even for a non-tea lover/drinker, was a notable experience.

It's also a great lesson in marketing, so for me, it was a double win.

They reframe a job as a “tour of duty” in which the company makes clear to the employee what s/he will get out of the next assignment while at the same time, the employee promises s/he will stick with the job until the end of the tour. They stay because reputational risk is too great to leave it.

It’s a quick read and a solid framework for thinking about developing talent in today’s networked age.

Meanwhile, you can always look to the military for inspiring stories of courage, bravery, and leadership. In Pegasus Bridge, the acclaimed historian Stephen E. Ambrose details the first invasion effort of D-Day and the strategic imperative of a group of British airborne troops of taking a canal bridge deep behind enemy lines.

This is a book about planning, preparation, team building, leadership, strategy, execution, and more.

You’ll appreciate the “Greatest Generation” more and hopefully you’ll never be in a life/death situation like this with the fate of the free world hanging in the balance.

However you will be in a position where you need to lead a group of people on a mission. Learn from the best.